


Alter

by hellomrschorusgirl



Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Ultimate Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-26 06:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17136854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellomrschorusgirl/pseuds/hellomrschorusgirl
Summary: Everyone has an Alter, a person who looks, walks and talks just like you. The only difference is that they live in an Alternate Reality, which is much darker than the one you know. We are connected to our Alter in various ways, meaning that whenever our Alter is injured we feel their injuries as well. Alters may have different jobs or a different partner, but there is one general rule all Alters must abide to. Both Alters experience the same Life Event that will change their entire way of life, such as the death of a close relative. This is the rule that cannot be broken. Interfere with this rule and you shall face terrible consequences.On Halloween night, Y/N and her best friends Wanda and Natasha tried to get in touch with their Alter. But things didn’t go as planned and all three of them ended up in the body of their Alter. Now they’re faced with several important choices that will determine the further course of their destiny but more importantly will they stay in the body of their Alter or return to their own life?





	1. Alter part 1

As a flight attendant, you’re living the dream flying from one country to the next. But once you come home again, there’s nobody waiting for you. It was always your dream to meet your soulmate in the air, on a plane, but nothing of the sorts happened to you. You did see it happen to your co-worker Wanda when she feel head over heels in love with one of the passengers on the flight to Dubai.

So you decided to find a roommate and you eventually chose Natasha, a Russian personal trainer who works at a nearby gym. It doesn’t bother her at all that you’re gone for sometimes an entire week and she’s always happy to listen to your stories and complaints, most of it just juicy gossip.

And then a miracle was bestowed upon you. Love at first sight. His name? Steven Grant Rogers. He was one of the new pilots the airline hired and even though this shy, bashful guy needed some warming up to you first, once he asked you out and you went on that first date, both of you know this was meant to be forever.  
After one year you moved in together when the apartment above yours opened up. Wanda took your place as Natasha’s roommate and so all the little puzzle pieces fell into place. You and Wanda do most shifts together and you can leave together in the morning. Usually Steve leaves at the same time yet more often than not he is assigned to a different flight as the airline policy says you can’t work together if you’re dating.

But the fairy-tale didn’t last forever. The airline had some financial issues and people had to be laid off. People who were hired last, were the first to go and Steve was one of them. Wanda got reassigned to another flight schedule which was much busier than her old one, meaning you didn’t get to see her as often anymore.  
As for you? Your bosses told you that you were going to do more long distance flights and thus you’d be gone for longer than before. Sometimes it would take three weeks before you’d finally have a couple days off. 

The unemployment hit Steve hard though he tried to see it as a challenge, an opportunity to spend some more time volunteering which he couldn’t do anymore due to irregular hours. And he also regularly hit the gym to blow off steam because he misses you so much. That’s how you know where to find him if he’s not home when you come back after a shift.

Steve eventually found a new job at the same gym. Initially you were stoked about it and even threw a little party with a couple others from the cabin crew that Steve kept in touch with. You didn’t see the signs then because why would you? You’d found a ring, an engagement ring nonetheless, between Steve’s shirts.   
It’s now October 31st, Halloween. You’ve invited Wanda and Natasha over to the apartment for a little Halloween fun, just the three of you. Little did Natasha know you and Wanda were going to have an intervention. Just days before you’d found out that Natasha had been flirting with Steve for months while you were away and he was at the gym. Steve never engaged in any flirtations.

Until you came back home after a weeks of absence, hopping home for a day or two only to fly out again soon, and you found a used condom in the bathroom trash can. He and Natasha had drinks the night before and had sex. Comfort sex. Because Steve was sexually frustrated and Natasha was game.  
How did you know it was Natasha? Red hair in the shower drain. You didn’t confront him with it – yet. You first wanted to rip Natasha in half and then kick Steve out. There was no way you were going to stay with him. Cheating is an absolute deal breaker to you. 

So Wanda got the idea of the Halloween intervention. And she also thought it would be a cool way to get in touch with your Alters, something she’s often talked about.

You had numerous scars all over your body from where you Alter had been hurt. It always left you disgusted of your own body and you tried to cover up as much as you could with clothes and makeup because yes, you even had a nasty car above your right eyebrow. It’s strange, as most only feel and not actually experience the injuries of their Alter. 

But up to this day, nobody has found an explanation as to why certain people do and others don’t see a physical remnant of these injuries reflected on their skin. That’s why Wanda thought it’d be cool to do a séance and find out.

Of course, just like in the movies, it didn’t entirely go according to plan.

You don’t understand what exactly went wrong. One minute you’re reciting the words Wanda had scribbled down on a piece of paper and the next your body starts to shake and the convulsions didn’t stop until your breathing levelled out and you collapsed onto the floor like a rag doll.

***

When you open your eyes again, you’re in a dimly lit bedroom on a mattress that’s so hard it could break your back if you didn’t watch out. You’re barely wearing any clothes and it feels as if you’ve been drugged, your head foggy and your limbs feeling numbed down. With the last of your strength, you managed to crane your neck and look around, trying to identify your surroundings. It’s then that you notice the body snoring next to you.

First your eyebrows knit together because since when did Steve dye his hair a few shades darker? But when the man rolls around in his sleep, you see that it’s not Steve at all. With a loud “Jesus fucking Christ!” you suddenly come to your senses again and jump out of the bed, startling the man that was sleeping next to you.  
Rubbing his eyes quickly while you scramble for your panties, he asks what the hell is going on. As you’re taking a couple more steps away from the bed, he gives you a lazy smile while half-awake eyes narrow in confusion.

“Y/N? Everything alright?”

Stammering whilst trying to piece it all back together, you scan the room for something to cover yourself up with. “You know my name?,” you shout over your shoulder, shimmying into a dress you reckon belongs to you but you’ve never seen before in your life. The entire situation feels so out of place, yet you’re still you and that’s what worries you the most.

The man sits up on the bed and nods, pointing at the pants near the edge of the bed. “I mean, yeah, I know your name. You told me at the bar.”

Hesitantly you pick up the sweatpants and hand it to him, still keeping your distance. “How did we meet again?”

With a groan, he pulls on the pants and fishes for a shirt underneath the bed. He gets up and walks straight past you, running his hands through his hair as he sighs deeply, going to fix himself a stiff drink in the kitchen. You follow right after him and keep firing the same question until he gets tired of you nagging and finally answers.

“Okay, okay, just shut up,” he snaps at you before he apologises and beckons for you to sit down on the opposite chair at the kitchen counter. “My name is Eddie. I’m a bartender at Venom, that fancy new club downtown. You come on to me, quite strong I must say, and we made out in the bathroom first before you suggested I’d take you back to my place.”

Disgusted with yourself that you’d ever suck face with anyone in a public restroom, you swallow the whiskey he’d offered you in one go. “Then what?”

Eddie chuckles darkly and gazes at the bed, his lust-blown pupils saying more than words. “Oh,” you breathe out slowly. “I see.”

Holding up the bottle and asking you if you want another glass, you push it away from you and shake your head. “I really gotta go now. Nice meeting you, Eddie,” you want to dismiss him as fast as possible, bile rising up in your throat.

But Eddie doesn’t intend to let you slip away that easily. He blocks you on your way to the front door and his large frame towers over you, not in a menacing but more in a protective, brotherly way. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s really dangerous out there for Alters, sugar.”

Holding up your finger, you shoot him a mean look. “First of all, don’t call me sugar unless you’re my sugar daddy, which you obviously are not.” Eddie laughs at this, a full-bodied laugh that rumbles through his chest. “Secondly…” Your voice grows silent as your eyes dart back and forth between Eddie’s and the door he’s blocking. 

“How did you know?”

“Because I recognise the frenzy and confusion,” he simply answers, leading you to suspect he is an Alter just like you.

“What? How? When?,” you bombard him once again with questions that give him a headache. But before he can reply to any of them, you hear the faint chime of a cell phone ringing.

Grabbing your hand, he drags you all the way back to the bedroom and finds the purse you’d forgotten to look for. It had been kicked under the bedside table during your heated shenanigans and once Eddie pulls it from underneath, he opens it and locates your phone. You hold out your hand and he drops it in your palm.

“Answer it,” he commands you, “They’ll know something is up when you don’t.”

You know he’s right, but the unknown caller ID on the screen doesn’t help with your nerves. Yet you have to put them aside and bite the bullet if you ever want to return to your own life. Picking up the phone, the first thing you hear is a very familiar voice.

“Steve?,” you exhale in relief, though the feeling quickly fades when he replies with a stern “Captain Rogers for you, Y/L/N.” Obviously your Steve is not the same Steve in this alternate reality.

“Did you manage to kill the asset?,” he inquires insistently. “Is Eddie Brock dead?”

Your eyes widen when they lock with Eddie’s and he nods an ardent yes. It’ll put you both in a shitload of danger if you say no, which is the truth, but a lie might help you to survive. “Yes, yeah, he’s gone.”

“Very good, Y/L/N. You did good, I’m proud of you. Report back to base on Monday, I’m giving you the rest of the week off.”

You don’t say anything else, ready to end the call and scream, but much to your surprise Steve adds something entirely unexpected. “Tell that husband of yours that if he doesn’t come in on Monday as well, I’m firing his ass.”

You still manage to squeak out a feeble “I will” before you press cancel and throw the phone back into your purse, pushing Eddie away as you head for the bathroom to puke out your guts in the toilet. Eddie patiently waits for you to finish and gives you a glass of water, sitting you down on the living room couch.

“So you’re supposed to off me, then?”

Clasping your hands in front of your face with a frustrated groan, you ask yourself how the fuck you ended up in this mess. “Apparently so.”

As you close your eyes and try to level your breathing, Eddie searches your bag for some kind of identification. When he comes up empty, he asks you to unlock your phone – which uses a fingerprint ID – to go through your documents and pictures in the hopes of finding at least something, one clue that might give you more information on who you are.

“It seems you don’t have any social media and from the few photographs on your phone I can’t really say anything. Looks like you’re a ghost.”

With a grimace, you take the phone from Eddie and have a look for yourself. Unfortunately Eddie is right, apart from one thing. “Hey, what’s this app for? Stark Inc? It’s password encrypted I think.”

Eddie doesn’t need more than a glance at the app you’re asking about before he curses profanities under his breath and reaches for his laptop on the coffee table. His fingers work hastily as he digs deep into the dark web. Only when he plugs in your phone on his laptop, he eventually explains what’s going on.

“It all makes sense now. Little personal items, a Captain as your superior asking you if you’ve killed the asset and then an app of Stark Inc? You’re a fucking hunter, Y/N. You fucking hunt Alters. The fucking irony.”

His laugh is bitter and sarcastic as now you’re beginning to realise that the situation is much more complicated than it seems. “You’re not just a bartender, are you?”

“I’m a freelance hacker. Being a bartender is just something to make some extra money on the side. A man’s still gotta eat and drink, right?”

“Right,” you mumble dryly, eyes glued to the screen as he does a thorough background check on you. More and more files are being dug up by the press of a key and before you know it, your entirely life has been unravelled in the blink of an eye.

Eddie points out what all the different documents mean and explains how you were a nurse at a rehab centre once, the same place where Tony Stark would check himself into after a particularly rough night of partying. You were hand-picked by Tony Stark himself.

“And Tony Stark is like, the leader or something?,” you query carefully as Eddie pulls up a picture of you in a nurse uniform.

It must be a funny question to Eddie because he can’t hold in his hearty laughter. “Something like that, yeah. Stark’s motives are… unclear. He’s been hunting down Alters ever since we found out it was possible to switch between realities.”

The following documents Eddie shows you is a marriage certificate. “Your husband’s name is James Buchanan Barnes, a veteran and now also employed by Stark. It says here that you and Sergeant Barnes both serve under Captain Rogers, the guy that called you earlier.”

You learn a bit more about your private life and realise how much your life actually differs from your Alter’s life. You’d already had a feeling once you’d woken up that this reality is nothing like the reality you’re used to. Much darker, gloomier and dangerous. If your reality was the MCU, this one is the DCU. It seems you ended up in Gotham City.

“Can you hack into the Stark app?”

Eddie’s reply is once again, short ‘n simple. “I can, but I don’t have a death wish.”

You have half a mind to beg Eddie for his help, but your dignity and common sense is holding you back. There’s always another solution, in this case the password that’ll gain you access to the Stark app. If your Alter thinks just even a little bit like you, any of your most used passwords should do the trick.

Snatching your phone back from Eddie and undoing the connection with his computer, you give yourself a minute to decide which password you’re going to try first.   
The most obvious ones to you are always related to your friends and family, yet those are useless now.

“How about you try the first word that comes to mind?,” Eddie suggests as he shuts his laptop and looks over your shoulder at your indecisive fingers typing hesitantly on the screen.

You do as you’re told and type in the first word that comes to mind, your nickname in high school. Unfortunately an error pops up on the screen and you’re left with two more tries before the app shuts down your phone and sends a signal to Stark that someone is trying to break in. 

Gnawing nervously on your bottom lip, you weigh the possibilities that it’s not a word but rather a numeral code, which makes this all the more stressful, especially when your second attempt fails too. “Fuck, I have no idea!”

Staring blankly at the phone in your hands, Eddie’s suggestions fall on deaf ears as you block out any and all external influences. You study the phone and its lack of photographs, the background and the phone case. Nothing gives you a sense of who your Alter really is. The only thing you do know about your Alter is that she’s married to a guy names James Buchanan Barnes.

And then it hits you. Your Alter wouldn’t be your Alter if she didn’t at least take after you just a little. “Eddie, what can you find out about my husband?”  
He opens his laptop again and starts his quest, digging up whatever he can on Sergeant Barnes. Although Eddie shows you a detailed report dating back to his birth, there’s only one word that really stands out to you.

“His nickname is Bucky,” you whisper softly, crossing your fingers that your gut feeling is right about this one. “The password is Bucky.”

“Why Bucky?,” Eddie questions your decision. “It could easily be… Sarge or somethin’. You strike me as the woman who would prefer Sarge over something corny as Bucky.”

But it’s already too late and once the last letter has been typed, a welcome message appears on the screen and you’ve successfully unlocked the Stark app. “Because even though my Alter seems to be way tougher than I am, she wouldn’t be my Alter if she didn’t have a soft spot for sweet boys,” you gloat while giving the phone back to Eddie so he can continue his analysis.

“Alright, seems like you’ve got a bucket list, Y/N,” the hacker mentions while he sees his own name at the bottom of the list, only a few more names that haven’t been crossed out. “I know most of these people.” 

He points out to the last two names on the list. “That’s Shuri and her brother T’Challa. Shuri used to work for Stark but then he accused her of helping Alters escape from the lab and she was forced to go into hiding together with her brother.”

“It makes sense that they’d want me to kill them. But why does Stark want you dead, Eddie?,” you question him, your tone more suspicious now. “You know more than you’re letting on.”

There’s a pause and the silence weighs heavy on you, the tension so palpable you could cut it with a knife and have it for breakfast. Your eyes search Eddie’s for an honest answer, but he isn’t going to give it to you willingly, or at least not without putting up a fight. 

He knows you don’t possess the same skills as your Alter, who appears to be a very skilled hunter, so he decides to try his luck and gently puts his laptop down on the table, his motions slow and deliberate, before he jumps up from the couch and makes a run for the door.

It’s as if some kind of instinct kicked in because you don’t even realise that you’re chasing after him until you expertly throw a kitchen knife you’ve grabbed on your way and it flies right past Eddie’s head and lodges itself into the door, missing his ear by just an inch.

He is just as surprised as you are by your actions. “Fuck!”, he yells while turning around and holding his arms up, “Don’t hurt me, okay? I’m sorry!”  
“Then why did you run?!”, you shout back at him.

“Okay, I’ll tell you everything you wanna know. Just drop the knife, Y/N.”

You follow his eyes and look down at the other knife you’re holding in your hand, dropping it with a squeal. “Oh my God!”

“Relax, Y/N. You’re in your Alter’s body, your Alter’s life, so it’s normal that some of her abilities have transferred on to you,” Eddie tries to calm you down but it isn’t exactly working, your hands trembling as tears of anxiety swell up in your eyes.

“Explain to me why this is happening, Eddie!,” you retort at the top of your lungs, unable to keep your woes at bay any longer.

Eddie takes a couple long strides towards you and places his hands on your shoulders, speaking in a soothing voice. “I went through the same thing when I switched places with my Alter. I know it’s fucking scary, but you’re strong and you’ll get through this.”

His arms envelope you in a tight hug and as he rests his chin on the crown of your hair, you listen to Eddie explain how he ended up here too. “My fiancé Annie had just broken up with me, so I decided to get drunk at this bar in Chinatown. There was a storm and it was pouring, with thunder and all that shit. They warned me not to go outside until it stopped raining, but I was too stubborn and tried to walk home anyway. I got struck by lightning and next thing I know, I wake up in this body that is yet isn’t mine.”

“I figured out that my Alter was a bartender and that he was living a quiet life. It was easy for me to blend in and nobody ever suspected a thing.” Eddie releases a shuddering sigh and you look up at him, slowly detaching your body from his. “But once a hacker, always a hacker. So once day I was so bored that I got this crazy idea to hack into Stark’s mainframe.”

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Eddie confides in you why he targeted Stark and not someone else. “You know, I’ve learnt a great deal about Alters during my time here. It’s been five years now and fi there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that in the reality you and I are from, we are sold so much bullshit about Alters.”

“First of all, the government doesn’t want us to get in touch with our Alters. Why? Because they’re afraid that people will find a way to switch realities. This way criminals might be able to escape their punishment by simply switching to a reality where they can live a completely different life and remain entirely undetected.”  
Crossing your arms over your chest, you tell Eddie that doesn’t sound entirely unreasonable. “But guess what,” he continues as his voice drops to a whisper, “Secretly the government has been looking for a way to switch as well! Think about it, if you wanna get rid of your opponent, why not switch him for his Alter?”

“But they can never be sure if their Alter will comply or even agree with them, so why would they do that?,” you question Eddie’s story, although you know there’s truth in his words.

“They’re not looking for a way to switch Alters to save people or for the greater good, Y/N. The government is looking for a way to control people and what better way to control people than with fear. Fear of Alters who will distort the natural order of things.”

Eddie reaches for something under the kitchen counter and reveals a folder with just a few pieces of paper in it. He must’ve been hiding them in plain sight, just in case someone came looking for them. “Here, read these.”

With a fair amount of curiosity, you scan through the documents and finally understand what’s gotten Eddie so worried. “In this reality just as much as in the other, Alters are being experimented on. It’s rumoured that some people have the innate ability to switch. If Stark can find out what causes one Alter to switch in the other, he can sell this knowledge to the highest bidder.”

“We need to stop him,” you utter immediately, disgusted by the experiments as explained in Eddie’s hidden files. “I wanna help you stop him, but only if you help me get back to my own reality.”

“I can’t promise you that, Y/N,” Eddie replies earnestly, taking the files back from you and attaching them back underneath the kitchen counter.

“Is that why you never went back?,” you fire back yet regret your question as soon as you notice how Eddie’s face falls in despair.

He drops his head and mumbles “I never tried because in this reality I never hurt Annie. And if I never hurt Annie, I don’t have to live with the blame of hurting Annie.”  
You cup his cheek and bring his eyes back to yours, smiling apologetically at him. “I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine,” he shrugs your apologies off, taking your hand in his and squeezing softly. “But I’ve heard of people who have successfully switched back with the help of Shuri and T’Challa. We find them, we can stop Stark and get you back.”

A sliver of a smile appears on Eddie’s lips when you nod and agree to the plan. “Alright. If I have to report back on Monday, we’ve got four days to figure this out. So where do we start?”

Eddie suggests you start with changing into some other clothes rather than the little black dress you were wearing back at the club. He’s got some women’s clothes stashed somewhere in his closet from past conquests and one-night-stands. Luckily for you, there are some items that fit you just right. Meanwhile Eddie has changed into some jeans, t-shirt and a jacket as well, picking up the keys of his motorcycle while he waits for you to finish up.

When you emerge from his bedroom, he whistles lowly and tells you that you look much better. A faint blush appears on your cheek and you thank him kindly as he locks up the apartment and walks with you to the elevator. 

“We’ll start with your husband. There are too many names on that list for you to finish them all off by yourself, so I reckon you’re working together with your Bucky on this one. I got your address, we’ll go there first.”

“Okay,” you cough awkwardly, getting antsy again at the thought of meeting your Alter’s husband who is technically also your husband. 

Eddie immediately notices how your mood has changed. “You’re not married, are ya?”

You shake your head and confess you were just about to break off an engagement when you were switched. “He cheated on me.” You don’t feel like opening up much about Steve to Eddie, given you don’t know him that well at all. Eddie doesn’t push and hands you your helmet, telling you to be careful as you put it on.

“Well, let’s hope this Bucky isn’t as much a jerk as your ex,” he concludes while starting up the engine of the bike, allowing you to wrap your arms around his waist first before speeding off.


	2. Alter part 2

It turns out you and Bucky live in one of the nicest parts of New York, which obviously also comes with a steep price tag. You wonder how much Stark must be paying both of you to do his dirty work if you can afford a house this big and so close to Central Park. 

In your purse you’d found a key of which you were sure it was the key to the front door. You were right and you let yourself in, calling out for your husband first but not receiving any response, thinking that he must not be home and that you and Eddie could search the place without being disturbed. Unfortunately you were wrong and just as Eddie closed the door behind him, a dark figure rushes towards you with a gun in his hands, pointing it straight between your eyes.

“You’re not Y/N, so you must be her Alter,” he hisses with clenched teeth, his eyes narrow and menacing. “Who’s this with you?”

You straighten your back and try to speak with confidence although you’re definitely intimidated by your husband’s very violent way of introducing himself. “This is Eddie Brock. He is helping me get back to my own reality.”

Maybe it’s because you didn’t even deny that you were his wife’s Alter, or maybe it’s because as soon as your eyes locked with his you could see them softening again, but after a few heartbeats Bucky drops the gun and puts it aside.

“I believe you. But what are you doing here?,” he questions both of you with a gruff voice, guiding you to the living room where you can talk more freely. “Y/N and I are no longer together.”

You can see the pain reflected in his expression once he speaks to last words. You’re tempted to ask what happened, but it’s not relevant to the mission you and Eddie have embarked on, so you let your curiosity slide and listen to Eddie taking the lead on this.

“We know you and Y/N have been hunting down people that are helping Alters escape from Stark. People like Shuri and T’Challa. They will know how to get Y/N’s Alter back to her own reality and we figured you might know where they’re hiding.”

“I did get the kill order, but they’re not mine to kill. Y/N and I divided the list in half. I’ve already finished my half, seems to me Y/N hasn’t done so yet,” Bucky replies as he sits down on the couch, his body language still showing signs of suspicion towards Eddie, yet less towards you. That’s why you decide to take on a different approach to get more information from him.

“I can tell you still love your wife.” Bucky’s head snaps in your direction but he doesn’t say anything yet, choosing to hear you out first before delivering his final answer. “I know she wants to get back to you just as much as I want to get back to my own reality. And I don’t have anyone else to turn to aside from Eddie and yourself.”

You take a deep breath and focus on Bucky, his blue eyes boring into yours. “So please, if you know anything, anything at all that might lead us to Shuri and her brother, please tell me. You will be saving not only my life, but that of your wife as well. Because if one Alter dies…”

“The other dies too,” he finishes your sentence for you. “I know. They’ll find you sooner rather than later. Stark has very elaborate equipment to track down Alters. He has also hired some of the finest trackers to find them and when he does, he sends in the hunter to catch or kill them. Or both.”

You swallow thickly at the apparent ease with which Bucky explains the inner working of Stark Inc. But your plea has worked as Bucky gets up and goes to his study to retrieve a flash drive that Eddie can plug into the iPad he’s brought with him. “I downloaded all the tracking software onto this USB. If you cross-reference all the data, I’m sure you will find who you’re looking for.”

“Thank you,” you tell him as your hand brushes his and your heart skips a beat. “Thank you so much.”

Bucky yanks his arm away from you and averts his body, moving to the other side of the room where he can look out of the window to see if you haven’t been followed. “Stark stole my wife from me. He deserves to pay for what he did.”

“We never said anything about -,” Eddie tries to detonate the situation but Bucky shoots him one look and he knows his attempt is futile.

“You didn’t have to.” He turns to you again and sighs deeply. “If you are anything like the Y/N I married, you’d want justice just as much as she does.”

There’s something desolate in his tenor that makes the curiosity resurface again and before you can control it, you blurt out the question that’s been burning on the tip of your tongue ever since you walked in. “What happened?”

Bucky takes his time contemplating his reply, checking the streets again before deciding you are in the clear and haven’t been followed. “She was a kind and loving nurse, with such a big heart of gold. When I got discharged, she encouraged me to find a new job. I tried police academy but soon ended up in private security because we had bills to pay and being a policeman doesn’t exactly come with a fat pay check. I didn’t know back then that Stark would force me to kill people.”

He sounds remorseful and casts his eyes down to his fidgeting hands, before he hardens himself and continues to talk about Stark with pure hatred and despise. “In the beginning, Stark was very friendly. But he had his eye on my wife from the start. He wanted her for himself and so he hacked his way into our lives, planting Easter eggs here and there for Y/N to find that made it look like I had been cheating on here.”

“Hotel bills, credit card statements from a card in my name that had been used to buy sex toys, you name it. He said he’d make it all go away if I just did what he asked me to do.” He can’t help but blink away a few tears and your heart goes out to him, mainly because of the similarity between your two stories, the biggest difference being that Steve actually cheated on you. 

“I’m so sorry, Bucky,” you whisper softly to the man who you are slowly warming up to. He might not be the man you love, but he is the man your Alter loves and you can’t help but feel a connection to him.

“Guys, I hate to ruin the moment, but I think I found something,” Eddie pipes up from behind his small laptop. You and Bucky join his side and see what he’s been looking at.

“I’ve managed to pinpoint their exact location. They’re in Brooklyn.”

“Hey, I know where that is,” Bucky says as Eddie zooms in on the whereabouts of Shuri and T’Challa. “That’s Y/N’s new apartment, the one she moved to after we split up.”

She must’ve been hiding them at her own apartment because there’s no better place to hide two fugitives than at the last place they’re going to look, the apartment of the person meant to hunt them down. Bucky smiles to himself when it dawns on him, that the woman he loves hadn’t been turned into a ruthless hunter after all.

***

The apartment of your Alter is the complete opposite of yours. Where the house in Upper Manhattan was stylish and modern, your Alter’s apartment is something that resembles shabby chic. In your own reality, you and Steve live in an old factory that has been completely remodelled, keeping the integrity of the home alive yet adding some wooden touches to the industrial architecture.

Any security measures your Alter had taken are quickly overridden by Eddie’s magic touch. Apparently she didn’t care as much about her home being broken into than her phone, even though her home holds more personal items. Somehow this woman is full of contradictions, which is why you’re starting to wonder if that’s also how other people see you.

It’s eerily quiet once you, Eddie and Bucky set foot inside. No sign of Shuri or her brother, no sign of anyone living here apart from yourself. But there’s a distinct smell around the place, of cinnamon and cumin which makes an odd combination. It’s not as if anyone has been cooking in the kitchen, so where is that smell coming from?

Before you can realise what’s happening, smoke erupts from under the carpet and you know you’ve walked into an ambush. It was too easy breaking into the house, so no wonder it’s boobytrapped. Within just a few seconds you can hear Eddie has touched the floor first and then Bucky’s body falls down onto the ground too. You’re the last one to succumb to the gas, your knees weakening as your eyes flutter shut and your head hits the carpet with a soft thud.

Your ears are ringing. It’s the first thing you notice as you’re slowly waking up. Your face scrunches up in agony and you open your eyes, suddenly face to face with a young girl with piercing brown eyes. This must be Shuri.

“Ah, the Alter is finally awake! Chop chop, let’s get to business!,” she yells for the entire apartment and you groan at the loud sound of her voice.

Propping yourself up on your elbows first, you see Eddie and Bucky at the kitchen table sipping coffee together. They were the first ones to go, so they were probably the first ones to wake up too. Eddie is very pleased to see you’re finally awake and helps you onto your feet, giving you a big bear hug.

But his affections aren’t without ulterior motives. “She drew some of your blood, Y/N,” he whispers very quietly into your ear.

Giving him a strange look that soon makes way for a more neutral expression, you shift to Bucky who just pats your shoulder and smiles awkwardly. “If you were my wife, I’d hug you too. But you aren’t, so…,” he chuckles dryly, shyly averting his eyes from yours when you send him a sweet smile to tell him it’s okay.

All three of you follow after Shuri, who has disappeared to the living room, and you see that the wall decorated with several photographs had actually been a doorway behind which Shuri and T’Challa had been hiding. Shuri beckons for you to enter as well and there you find T’Challa listening to a radio that protrudes nothing but static.

“Don’t mind my brother, he’s listening for signs from our allies within Stark Inc,” Shuri comments on her brother’s actions. “We are going to invade the facility tonight, so you’ve arrived right on time.”

“Hold on, invade?,” you recapitulate, your tone one of surprise and confusion.

With a deep sigh, Shuri motions for T’Challa to clear the table so she can lay out her plans of the facility. While her fingertips pass along instructions and clarifications, you aren’t focusing on her words but rather on her body language, noticing she’s hiding some essential information from you.

“First of all,” you interrupt her after clearing your throat. Shuri lifts up her head in dismay, but doesn’t continue her speech. “I think you owe us an explanation.”

“Excuse my sister,” T’Challa speaks up for the first time, standing up from his chair and walking towards you with his hand outstretched. You give him a firm handshake and nod your head. “But she is very eager to get this over with so she can get the other Y/N back. They are very close.”

“I understand,” you reply as your eyes dart between Shuri and T’challa. “So my guess is that Y/N was planning to bring Stark down, too? With your help?”

The corners of his mouth twitch with a small smile. “Indeed. And it has to happen tonight, for Stark is going to kill off all Alters tomorrow at dawn.”

“Why suddenly kill them all off?,” Eddie questions and it’s a valid question, one that’s bothering you as well.

The man turns his body to Eddie, who is standing next to Bucky, and addresses both of them with a polite smile. “Because he has found his medicine. But Shuri can explain this one the best.”

With a nod of her head, she tells all of you that she didn’t work for Stark voluntarily. “He saw my research and wanted to put theory into practice. I didn’t have a choice but to cooperate, or he would kill our mother, who is an Alter as well.”

Shuri’s theory is the following: switches can be induced in three ways depending on the personality and characteristics of the Alters. The first type respond best to pain, so Stark injects them with a dangerous neurotoxin that’ll create excruciating pain, pain that will not end until the switch has been made.

The second type does not respond to physical pain but rather emotional pain. These kind of people are injected with a concoction that will induce hallucinations. It’ll appear as if they are living the simulation, moving around freely in a makeshift world that seems to be real. The key is to find and recreate their major life event, which naturally induces a switch.

“When Alters don’t respond to either forms of pain, there’s only one possibility left. These type of people are extremely empathic, meaning they can carry the pain of others. In these people, switches cannot be induced. Only by sheer will they can switch.”

From here, T’Challa takes over again, his voice carrying across the gravity of Stark’s findings. “Stark has been looking at their brains, identifying the substances that are released once a switch occurs. Then his lab is assigned to reconstruct these substances into some kind of medicine, which he can administrate to whoever he pleases. It’s the perfect weapon, it’ll inspire fear in everyone.”

Shuri slams her fist on the table. “Which is why we need to move now!”

“Okay, so how do we go about this?,” Bucky asks Shuri, who has grown increasingly agitated now by her brother’s lengthy explanation.

“Finally somebody who asks a sensible question,” she sighs in frustration, pointing at four red crosses marked on the map. “The Alter and Bucky will go in tonight, when the shifts change. Nobody will think twice when they see them. Everybody knows Steve has been trying to get Bucky to come in for weeks.”

While she moves her finger to a second location, Eddie wants to know what his role is in all of this. Shuri demands patience, saying she’ll tell him in a few. “We need to disable the security, which can only be managed from inside Stark’s office. Stark will not be around at this hour of night, so Bucky will be able to gain access fairly easily and with your help, Eddie, he can break into the system.”

“Meanwhile,” Shuri continues as her gaze lands on you, “You are going to the lab to break free all the Alters and to destroy whatever it is that they’ve been working on. Just trash the whole place.”

“Does she have to do it on her own?” Bucky’s concern for your welfare is touching, the stance of his body partly shielding yours revealing the protective nature of his words.

But an answer to his question is soon offered when T’Challa announces that they’ve got a man on the inside that’ll come to your aid. “His name is Sam Wilson. We will alert him once you’ve reached the lab.”

The plan sounds reasonable to you, though there is one mark on the map that hasn’t been explained yet. When you point it out to Shuri, her face contorts in a grimace. “Steve Rogers poses a real threat. We don’t know where he stands. He promised to help us stop Stark from killing all those innocent people and told us he’ll meet you at the backdoor to help everyone escape.”

So Steve isn’t entirely the bad guy in this reality, which offers you some form of relief. “Okay, I’m in.” Eddie and Bucky both mimic your words.

“Just one last thing.” T’Challa wets his lips while he thinks of the best way to deliver his message. “To make sure nobody steals any of Stark’s research, he has added a very severe security measure. His… last resort, so to speak. Because once the system is down, you have ten minutes before the whole facility self-detonates.”


	3. Alter part 3

Bucky parked the car around the corner of Stark’s facility. You’re in the middle of pulling on your vest with the insignia of Stark Inc on when you see him disable the coms. “Hey, why did you just do that?”

“I wanna ask you a personal question,” he speaks quietly, swallowing in between words and clearing his throat. “Who are you in the other reality? Like… have we met?”  
Shaking your head, you give Bucky a sad smile. It feels uneasy to disappoint him, because you have a feeling he was hoping you’d say yes. “No, we didn’t. I – I’m a stewardess. My fiancé is Steve Rogers and he cheated on me with a colleague at the gym he works at. Her name is Natasha Romanoff.”

That name seems to ring a bell and Bucky’s face turns red. “Natasha, hm?,” he repeats her name as the car gets a little hot for him, his fingers tugging at the collar of his vest. “That name is familiar. I used to date a girl named Natasha before we met. In fact, I dumped Natasha so I could date you.”

“Really?,” you blurt out in a high-pitched voice, immediately correcting yourself and adding a more controlled “How so?”

“My little sister Becca used to be in the same class as you. She also wanted to be a nurse. One day, she asked me if I could drive a friend of hers home and that friend was you. Turned out we lived in the same building but had never crossed paths before.”

The story intrigues you because it is so much more romantic than how you and Steve came together. Bucky continues and says that at the time he was still dating a redhead called Natasha, but that the relationship wasn’t working out for either of them and he was thinking of calling it quits.

“Then I met you and damn…” He bites his lower lip and there’s starlight in his eyes as he reminiscence about the first time he laid eyes on your Alter, on you. “I fell so deeply in love that I couldn’t image being with anyone else but you.”  
Truth be told, his comment does make you blush a bright pink. “I guess you’ve been together for a long time then.”

“About ten years,” Bucky replies and suddenly you envy your Alter. You want to say something else, tell Bucky that you wished you and him could meet in your own reality as well, but the moment has passed as soon as your alarm goes off, the signal that it’s time to move. As you’re stepping out of the vehicle, Bucky throws one more sad look in your direction.

Once you enter the facility, you have to pass security first which goes without all too much trouble so you can easily slip to the elevators and go up to the 20th floor where the lab is. Bucky is going up to the 79th floor where Stark has his office. The 80th floor is only for Stark and cannot be accessed by any of his employees. You briefly wonder what’s on the 80th floor, but the thought passes quickly once you step out of the elevator and it’s game on.

Enabling your com, you are immediately plugged into the network and you can hear Bucky and Eddie discussing tactics while Bucky is trying to override the lock to Stark’s office. “Guys, when did Shuri say Sam was going to meet me? The lab is all dark. I don’t trust this.”

There’s not a living soul to be found in the lab while Shuri said that there would still be doctors, nurses and scientists running about and prepping for the annihilation of all Alters at dawn. You try to locate a light switch and flip it, but nothing happens, as if the electricity has been cut for this floor and specifically this floor.  
“What are you doing here?”

You don’t recognise the voice and instinctively grab for the gun strapped to your back, drawing it out quickly as you turn around and face an unknown male. He repeats his question again and demands an answer right away. His name tag reads “Clint Barton” and instead of a gun, he is holding bow and arrow.

“My name is Y/L/N. I have orders from Captain Rogers. I am here to speak to Shuri’s mother to try and get a location on her and her brother before Stark kills her off.”

“That’s odd,” the archer says while tightening his bow. “Stark ordered them all up at the 80th floor just an hour ago. I’m sure Steve was with him when they moved them.”

So Stark and Steve are both still in the building. The information Shuri got from her source, Sam Wilson, had been incorrect. Maybe he didn’t get the memo, maybe he did it on purpose and passed along false information. Anyhow, you need to get out of this icky situation and preferably without killing this man.  
Out of nowhere, a black man shows up behind Clint and reacts instantly, knocking out the archer with his gun. He holds up his arms when you don’t lower your gun, your eyes skewering him. “Sam Wilson?”

He nods and shows his name tag, pinned to his bulletproof vest. “The lab has been disabled. Stark is planning something on the top floor. You have to come with me now.”

“How do I know I can trust you?,” you question him with a suspicious tone, pulling back the trigger to which he holds up his hands higher and blows out a deep breath.

Taking a step towards you, he tries to gain your trust by slowly taking out his weapon and droppin git to the ground. “You don’t. But right now I am the only one that can get you up there. We can’t take the elevators, they know there are intruders in the building.”

“Who tipped them off?” Picking up his gun while maintaining eye contact, you are now confident you have the upper hand in the situation. “Rogers?”

Sam shrugs and points at the archer. “This is Stark’s version of special ops. My bet is that you were flagged to begin with, meaning Stark took his precautions.”

Maybe your presence or your switch didn’t go unnoticed after all. “Alright, let’s move.”

He guides you away from the elevators as they have security cameras, instead taking you to the staircase. “You must be kidding me. We are not going to climb the stairs all the way up?”

“Hell no!,” he laughs softly, noticing you’ve dropped your gun a little. “I’m taking you one floor up, where we can take Stark’s private elevator. That one doesn’t have cameras since he likes to do the dirty with his assistant in there every now and then.”

“But how are you going to get into it? I’m sure you need like a code, badge, fingerprint or something?”

Fishing in the pockets of his pants, Sam takes out a small device the size of a fingernail. You can barely see it as he is holding it between his fingertips. “This is going to create a small disturbance in the system and the doors to the elevator should open automatically. It’ll give us enough time, about 15 minutes give or take, to get to the 80th before the elevator goes on lockdown.”

As Sam plants the device on the control panel of the elevator, the system short-circuits and just as predicted, the doors open with ease. You only have one question left and that is how the hell you’re going to get down again.

“Oh, no worries, I’m sure all of you will fit into the helicopter.”

Shuri never mentioned anything about a helicopter. The plan was to get all the Alters, 7 in total, out of the lab and take the stairs down to the ground floor where you can escape via the emergency exit. “Really? 20 floors down?” Sam chuckles softly, amazed that you could’ve been so gullible. “I hate to break it to you but the only way you’re getting out here is either in the heli or not at all.”

You have to let Bucky know the plan has changed. Through the coms, you repeat his name and try to get an answer, but all you’re receiving is static until finally Eddie’s voice breaks the silence.

“Y/N? What’s wrong?”

“Bucky doesn’t have to break into Stark’s office anymore. The lab has gone dark and they moved everyone to the top floor. Sam’s got a device that allows us to go there in Stark’s own private elevator. It runs for 15 minutes so Bucky still has time to get to the elevator and go up too.”

“Alright, copy. I’ll pass along the message.”

Sam presses the button to the 80th floor and up you both go. “Quite a heroic way to die, right?”

“Nobody is dying today, Sam,” you retort with a snappy voice. “I have to stay alive so I can switch back.”

“Shuri promised you that?,” Sam asks in return and you can’t help but find his tone curious, almost too calm, as if he knows he’s going to die and has made peace with it. “You do know that she can’t get you to switch back unless she has Stark’s serum, which he keeps on the 80th floor as well.”

“I’m confused,” you tell Sam, holding the gun higher again so he is forced to speak truthfully, yet he is not afraid of you nor your gun.

“I was supposed to help you get everyone out and get them to this elevator. While on the 80th floor, I’d get the Alters into the helicopter and snatch the serum on my way out. I’d pass it along to one of the Alters so they’d give it to Shuri. Afterwards I’d go back down and meet you and Bucky at the lab.”

It slowly dawns on you that Shuri never intended to help you switch back to your own reality. Your Alter knew that this was a suicide mission and she willingly signed up for it still. So why would Shuri help you if your Alter had already known the truth?

“The place would blow up and we’d all die,” you conclude solemnly, the ding of the elevator alerting you both that you’ve arrived at the designated floor. “But I ain’t planning on dying, Sam.”

“That’s why I’m sticking by your side. I don’t wanna die either, but I know it’s possible that I will.”  
He nods to your right and steps out of the elevator, expecting you to follow suit. You can hear Stark’s voice talk to someone else, a man standing right outside of your line of sight. Together with Sam you scan your environment and see that Stark has put all the Alters in a glass box, or cage depending on how you look at it. 

“We just need to get past Stark and the other guy, shatter the glass and get ‘em all out. We need a distraction,” Sam whispers into your ear.

“I got this,” you reply whilst sucking in a deep breath, handing Sam his gun back. Sam’s eyes follow your every move as you slip away till you’re behind Stark’s desk. 

There you screw your eyes shut and briefly encourage yourself before standing up and creating the diversion Sam needs. Your breath hitches in your throat when you recognise the man standing across from Stark as Steve Rogers. He recognises you too of course and as soon as Stark notices Steve’s eyes are no longer on him, he turns around swiftly and a shit eating grin spreads on his lips.

“I was waiting for the moment you’d show up.”

You aim your gun at him but Steve’s reflexes are faster than yours and he beats you to it, firing a warning shot so you’re forced to duck and put your gun on the desk. You thought he was on your side but apparently Shuri was wrong about that too.

“Why are you doing this?”

Your question is directed both at Tony as well as Steve, but it’s Tony who gives you a reply. “Because I want my fiancé back. Pepper Potts. She’s an Alter. One day I wake up and I have a knife to my throat. She didn’t know who I was because in her reality we haven’t met.”

You wonder how many other people have already been in the same position, but you don’t get much time to contemplate when Tony takes a few steps towards you, pulling out a gun of his own and pointing it right between your eyes.

“You don’t have to do this,” you tell him without a sign of fear of intimidation. Perhaps you’ve embraced your fate just like Sam has. But that doesn’t mean you’re ready to give up just yet.

“What? Testing on Alters so I can find a way to get Pepper back?” He sounds exasperated, feigning shock and hurt. “Excuse me, but I think that every sensible human being in my shoes would do the same. They’d do whatever they can to find a way. Luckily for me, I am rich and I can do what I want.”

“Being rich does not justify killing innocent people!”

“You know what?!,” he shouts back, raising his voice even though he didn’t mean to. Tony is the kind of man who prefers his emotions to be simple so he can keep them in check. He does not like to be talked back to. “I don’t care. This Pepper is a hooker, Y/N, which is kinda very ironic since before I dated Pepper, I was a regular. 

But my Pepper is kind-hearted and smart. This Pepper is a bitch.”

“Now, I’m terribly not sorry,” Tony continues with a smile that is partly sad, partly annoyed. His finger is ready to pull the trigger, but behind him you see how Steve moves his gun and points it at Tony instead. “But I have to kill y-“

A loud bang follows, though it’s not a gunshot from either Steve or Tony’s gun. Thanks to a very small explosive with limited impact but high efficiency, Sam has managed to shatter the glass and thus set free all of the Alters. In the heat of the moment, Tony ends up on the floor and his gun out of reach. Steve kicks it further away from him when he still tries to grab it.

“Go, Y/N, go help Sam,” he yells at you, indicating that he’s got Tony under control and under shot. 

Sam has just led the last of the Alters outside to the deck where the helicopter will land any moment now. You run up to him and he pushes a small bag into your hands. “Take these.” A mixture of confusion and mild annoyance shines in your eyes when they lock with Sam’s. “Shuri gave them to me. Five tubes to fill with the serum.”

“I don’t understand. Is the serum not here?”

Sam immediately shakes his head and you can hear Tony cackle behind you, grunting as Steve pushes his gun to his temple. “Where is it?,” Steve demands to know.

When Tony doesn’t reply immediately, Steve pushes his knee into Tony’s back and he cries out in pain. “I moved it to the vault! Lower level. Take the elevator and push the button with the logo on it.”

You nod at Steve and turn back to Sam, who takes your free hand in his and squeezes. “Go. Find Bucky. Then get out of here as soon as possible.”

“But what about you? How are you getting out of here?,” you ask him with a small quiver in your voice as you can hear the helicopter approaching.

He smirks and lets go of your hand, telling you to not worry about him. “Steve and I will manage. Don’t worry about us. Worry about getting back. Now go, Y/N.”

Your arms envelope him in a quick hug, holding him tightly for a few more seconds before the helicopter has landed and it’s time to part ways. You throw him one last look before stepping into the elevator. Sam salutes you with a big smile and as the doors close, it hits you that you probably will never see him again.

As you hadn’t heard from Bucky in a while, you figured the coms must be broken. You try to reach Eddie but that doesn’t work either, until you have reached the lower level and suddenly static is almost deafening you. Stark must’ve designed the building in such a way that some rooms block out all forms of communication.

Bucky’s voice breaks through and you can now hear him loud and clear again. “Y/N?!”

“Bucky? Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay. I think the coms didn’t work because I was so deep underground.”

“Wait, where did you go?”

Bucky says he found some information in Stark’s office about the serum and discovered he’d been throwing false clues around, directing you to the upper floor while all this time the serum had been hidden away in the lab on the lower level. So naturally Bucky went on his own one man mission to retrieve the serum – for you.

“Did you get it?,” is the first question on the tip of your tongue, your feet stepping towards the elevator door as it dings and signals you’ve reached the lower level. Just as you’re about to step out, you see Bucky standing in front of you, ready to reply with a yes.

“Y/N…,” he sighs deeply, softly, a warm smile gracing his lips as he folds you into his arms for a quick hug of relief, though his eyes harden once he notices the big nasty bruise on your cheek. You hadn’t noticed it before and as you look at your reflection, you realise it’s not you that caused the bruise.

“My Alter, your wife, she is in trouble,” you rush out the words instantly, feeling how fresh and still painful the bruise is. “Please tell me you’ve got the serum.”

“I found it.” Bucky guides you through the lab to where you can see a small container, about the size of a marmalade jar. It contains a clear blue liquid that appears to almost glow in the dim lighting of the hallway. “Oh, thank God,” you whisper as you take out the vials and tell Bucky to fill them as fast as he can. “Because we have to get going right now.”

You reach for the jar but Bucky stops you before you can take it. He gestures to the metal surface on which the bottle rests, saying it’s a pressure plate. “Once you’ll lift it off, it’ll probably trigger an alarm or worse. We’ve got to replace it with something equally heavy.”

Looking around the sterile environment, there isn’t really anything in your line of sight that could serve a purpose. The lab is relatively small compared to the one you visited earlier where they experimented on the Alters. It’s solely used to store the serum, so why isn’t there more security than a pressure sensitive metal plate.  
“Give me your gun.”

Bucky hesitates and at first you think he’s going to refuse, but then you take your gun and hold it up. “You can have mine. Mine is lighter than yours. I think your gun is the right weight.”

It takes Bucky a few seconds to do the math but eventually he has to agree with you. “Okay,” he says as he takes the gun from you and you both walk up to the serum.   
“I take the jar, you put the gun in place?” 

It all has to happen within a heartbeat and with the utmost concentration. The brunet’s fingers have to work incredibly swiftly in order to make the switch, which of course isn’t a problem because Bucky is extremely fast-fingered. However you are not and as you exchange the jar for the gun, you are one second too late and the gun shifts on the plate.

Your breath hitches in your throat as both you and Bucky anticipate the worst. You hear a soft buzzing and from the corner of your eyes you can see one of the   
cameras is moving. No bells ‘n whistles, no explosions. Just a silent alarm, much to your relief.

“We have no time to waste. Let’s switch,” Bucky mumbles under his breath as he concentrates on transferring the liquid from the jar to the tubes. 

In his haste, Bucky spills some of the serum on his hand. He curses as it leaves a nasty stain. You take over from him as he wipes off the liquid on his shirt and examines his hand. “We should avoid skin contact with it. That looks like a second degree burn, Bucky.”

“If this shit hurts like hell, then how are people going to take it?” It’s a valid question and you’ve got no clue how to respond to it. Shuri only ever spoke of injections, so you figure that’s the least painful solution. Though you’re not sure you can trust anything Shuri ever said to you anymore.

Once you’re done, you pocket the tubes again. “We have to destroy the rest of it.”

“There’s no time. I expect them to track us down.” He’s right but still you can’t just leave the rest of the liquid here or it’ll fall right back into Stark’s hands. “Okay, let’s just take it with us then.”

With a nod Bucky put the remainder of the liquid in his backpack and follows you to the elevator. Repeatedly and urgently you push the buttons of the elevator, all of them, just so you can get out of there instantly. You figure it won’t be long until the guards come to kill you.

And you are right, because as soon as the elevator rises up to the ground floor, at least half a dozen security agents are waiting for you on th the other side, aiming their guns and firing just as you were about to reach for your firearm. Then you realise you don’t have a gun anymore, as you gave it to Bucky instead when you asked for his. 

“We gotta split up, Bucky,” you explain hastily, taking shelter behind him once the guards open fire. “It’ll be easier for us, it’ll increase our chances.”

“I’m the only one with a gun, Y/N. It’ll be suicide if I let us split up!”

Bucky’s got your back and thanks to his excellent marksman skills, you slip past them and run through the hallway all the way to the back entrance as was the original plan. But as soon as you reach the emergency exit, you push against it and can’t get it to move not even an inch. 

“Fuck!,” you yell at the door, the entire building on lockdown as soon as you triggered the alarm.

“They’re closing in on us, Y/N,” Bucky shouts over his shoulder as he keeps firing bullets until he runs out and he’s got to engage in hand to hand combat to hold off the guards. Meanwhile you’re looking around to find a way out, but the only solution you can come up with is to blow up the door.

“Bucky, give me the jar!,” you respond as a light bulb pings in your mind, remembering the burn wound on Bucky’s hand. The brunet groans and ducks for cover, quickly taking off his backpack and sliding it over to you as he resumes defending both of you against the guards.

As soon as you screw off the lid, you start to second guess your idea of using the serum to burn through the door, but there’s no time left and you just throw the content of the jar onto the door. Immediately you hear the sizzling of the liquid burning through the metal like acid.

“It’s working, Buck! C’mon!”

Kicking open the double doors, you and Bucky are finally out in the open. After Bucky has managed to take out most of the guards before any new ones arrive, you have to make a serious run for it and make the most of your head start.

Along the way you almost stumble down and hit your head, but Bucky picks you up and takes you under his arm, helping you run at almost the same pace as he does until you’re about eleven blocks away from the Stark building.

Blowing out a deep exhale, you try to catch your breath and burst into laughter because you made it out alive. Though soon thoughts about Steve and Sam start to haunt you and it’s etched on your face ‘cause Bucky gently cups your face and caresses your soft skin tentatively, his touch the comfort you need right now.

“Let’s go meet up with Shuri,” you suggest after a moment of silence, just gazing into each other’s eyes and basking in the relief that you didn’t die. Bucky doesn’t say anything and drops his hand, taking yours in his so you walk hand in hand to the meeting stop. Truthfully, nothing needs to be said because these are you last minutes together before you take the serum.

Thinking of the serum, you make a mental note to ask Shuri what is it in after you’ve given her the vials. But first you are just really happen than when you open the door to the Starbucks where you’re supposed to meet Shuri, Eddie is there too and waving enthusiastically at you.

But your enthusiasm is short-lived when Shuri doesn’t give you and Eddie any time to reconnect and fill each other in on the details. All you can say is that it’s good to see him and then it’s back to business. Shuri asks you where the tubes are and you intend to fish them out of your pocket but it’s empty. 

In a moment of panic, you fear you’ve lost them in the fight. Then a sliver of a smile tugs at Bucky’s lips as he pulls up not five but three vials. “Stark didn’t produce enough of the serum to fill all five vials,” he lies smoothly to Shuri, who seems sceptical but doesn’t question it since she’s just glad to have at least some of the serum at her disposal.

“Why did it leave a burn on Bucky’s hand?,” you question Shuri, whose face contorts at your inquiries, not too keen on anyone knowing the secrets to the serum before she does.

“Stark added some extra components to fasten the transition. They’re not necessarily good components because when these chemicals come into contact with skin, they can have a bad reaction since skin consists of 70% water. This is not enough to counter the chain reaction of the components in the serum. Blood plasma however contains 92% water and proteins that protect you from the chemical burn. That’s why it’s important to inject not digest the serum.”

“But I will call you as soon as I have researched the serum and we can try it out on you,” Shuri says after she’s put the three vials away and gets up from her seat.

You stand up too and block her way out. “What the fuck? You promised you’d help me get back to my own reality! I didn’t just risk my life for nothing.”

Bucky rests his hand on your back to ease your nerves. Although you know he kept two vials of the serum, you still feel the need to stand up to Shuri and call her out on her bullshit and her lies that almost got you killed.

She scoffs and repeats her last words, that she’ll get in touch with you soon enough, pushing past you without another look. Once she’s gone, Eddie cards his fingers through his hair and gives you a sad smile. Yet his face clears up again when Bucky slides one of the vials across the table and right into his hand.

“How?,” he asks while his eyes fly from yours to Bucky’s, who is grinning widely now. Eddie nods in understanding, thanking Bucky. “You didn’t have to. I’m not even sure I wanna go back.”

“I know,” Bucky smiles kindly, handing you your own vial of the serum. “But I figured you might at least want the choice.”

“Thanks, mate,” Eddie replies genuinely and drops the vial in his chest pocket.

All this time you haven’t said a word, your hands wrung around the tube and your ears catching on to the conversation, your eyes following every movement of the two men, yet your mind isn’t registering anything. It’s a full-blown crisis and only when Eddie asks you a question, you are shaken up from your thoughts.

You’re going back. Aren’t you?

With doubtful eyes you stare right into Bucky’s baby blues, swallowing the lump in your throat followed by an awkward cough. “I have to, but I don’t want to.”

“You know you can’t stay here, Y/N,” Bucky speaks sincerely yet sadly, the corners of his lips tugged down in a grimace.

Under the table, away from Eddie confused eyes, Bucky weaves his fingers together with yours. “This is where we say goodbye. When I step out of the door, I can only hope we will see each other again in your reality.”

Turning his gaze to Eddie, Bucky speaks in the same tone of regret. “It was nice meeting you, Eddie. Take care of her, will you?”

“I promise, pal,” Eddie replies without even thinking about it. “Once we take the serum and it works, I will wait for Y/N at the Hard Rock Café on Times Square.”

You nod and thank him for his kindness, saying you look forward to meeting him again. Your words flatter him and as he gets up, he pecks your cheek and squeezes your shoulder. “I’ll inject it as soon as I get home. I’ll wait as long as I have to, Y/N. I’ll even sleep on the floor if need be.”

“You dork,” you retort with a laugh, saying your final goodbyes for now. “See you later, Eddie.”

Once Eddie has left as well, it’s just you and Bucky who remains. Casting your eyes downwards, you sigh deeply and promise Bucky you won’t forget about him. It’s about the only thing you can muster up and say at the moment, time running out.

“Hey,” he whispers gently, lifting your chin so you’re looking at him. “I’m sure that if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen in your reality too.”

“That’s just a cheap way of keeping hope,” you reply in a bittersweet voice, “Just because it’s meant to be, doesn’t mean it’ll happen. Or if it happens and it’s meant to be, doesn’t mean it’ll last.”

There’s no point in engaging in a discussion in your last moments together. Bucky is getting his wife back, the woman he married, and you are getting your old life back, though it’s not exactly the life you want to lead anymore.

“I don’t have a syringe,” you pipe up as you’re fighting the tears in your eyes. Bucky gives you his handkerchief so you can dry them, folding his arms around your shoulders as you bury your face in the nape of his neck so he doesn’t have to see you cry.

Weaving his fingers through your hair, the brunet says he has one in his backpack, one that he stole from Stark’s lab. It’s still in its original packaging so it’s sterile and you can use it right away. “But I don’t know where to go.”

“I – I can’t –,” Bucky’s voice breaks a little as he admits he can’t be there when you inject it, but he also doesn’t want you to be alone when you do so. He is tormented, having to choose between you and your Alter, his wife, for he has grown to love both of you equally in this short amount of time that you’ve spent together.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky gets his shit together and says he’ll drive you anywhere you want and he will stick by your side till the end. As your tears have dried, you gaze up with a half-smile at the handsome man, grateful for having him here with you.

“Anywhere?”

“Anywhere,” he confirms again, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

“Then take me to your place, please.”

It’s partly selfish and partly selfless. You want your Alter to wake up in her own bed, but you don’t want to do this alone and never see Bucky again. He does exactly as you asked, driving you back to his house, showing you the way to the bedroom where you lie down on the bed and close your eyes for a minute as he transfers the serum into the syringe. 

He asks you if you’re ready, and you nod wordlessly without blinking an eye, staring at the ceiling as you numb down your nerves. “I’m ready.” Your voice is steady and your eyes show no signs of fear when they lock with Bucky’s. 

When the cold tip of the needle penetrates your skin, your hand flies on top of Bucky’s and you stop him for a second. “I believe you are my Life Event.” 

It’s been nagging at you since the beginning, since you first met Bucky and the palpitations of your heart every time you even breathed in Bucky’s vicinity, they made you realise something very valuable. What if your switch wasn’t your Life Event, but meeting Bucky was? It certainly gives you hope that you’ll meet in your own reality too.

“I believe so, too.” You squeeze his hand and he injects you with the serum. At first you don’t feel anything, no pain, no nothing. You’ve been given some time to feel Bucky’s soft touch on your cheek as he notices how your face has turned a white as his bedsheets and little beads of sweat start to roll down your forehead.

A question forms on his lips and you know he’s asking how you’re feeling, if you’re feeling alright, but you have lost any and all ability to speak. Your throat feels thick and swollen, your arms and legs are paralysed and your eyes are transfixed on Bucky’s.

You can feel yourself slipping away, the agony you had predicted not a burning sensation like the wound it caused on Bucky’s hand. It’s the awareness, the understanding that you’re falling into a grey zone in between realities and there’s no turning back.

The last thing you see are the grey specks in Bucky’s eyes.


	4. Alter Epilogue

When you open your eyes, the first thing you see is Wanda’s kind face. She welcomes you back and helps you up from the ground as you had collapsed shortly after entering the apartment. You don’t have to ask her to know that she knows, you’re just happy to be back.

You sit down on the couch and the brunette fetches you a glass of ice cold water so you can gather your thoughts. With a sincere, grateful smile you thank her for taking such good care of you and the apartment as well in your ‘absence’, seeing everything is spotless and even in better condition then when you left it on Halloween.

“So… the other reality… How was it?,” Wanda queries gingerly, curious and eager to hear all your stories and adventures.

Sadly you have no clue what to tell her first, so you start from the beginning with Eddie Brock. That’s when you remember that you made a promise to him to meet up at the Hard Rock Café. Wanda says you’re in no state to drive and that she’ll take you instead, leaving you with the opportunity to continue your storytelling in the car.

Wanda lets you talk about whatever you want for how long you want. She notices you spent almost a good ten minutes talking about Eddie, but not even as little as two minutes about Bucky. From what your Alter has told her, she knows better than to pry for more details and decides that it’s best to let the subject of Bucky Barnes rest.

“So you freaking saved the world and every Alter that ever switched?,” she gasps in awe, staring at you with those big, innocent deer eyes as she stops in front of a red light. “Fucking hell! That’s awesome!”

You don’t have the heart to tell her that there was nothing awesome at all about this mission. In fact, it took a lot of bravery and sheer luck to pull off what you, Bucky and Eddie did. It also makes you wonder if Sam and Steve ever made it out.

“What ever happened to Steve?,” you ask once his name pops up in your train of thoughts.

Wanda blushes and points at your black eye, which you had also totally forgotten about in the rush of things. “That’s a whole other story.”

Apparently your Alter took charge the moment she realises she had switched. She fired numerous questions at Wanda, who had stayed behind when you had fainted though Natasha fled the scene, afraid that you had somehow died. She made it her personal mission to get to know who you are, your motivations and your desires, and tried to create a better reality for you.

“You won’t believe me when I tell you that the first thing she did was kick Nat’s ass in hand-to-hand combat at the gym. That’s how you got the bruise. Natasha only managed to hit her once but she totally overpowered her!”

Your Alter had also successfully kicked out Steve and put his things out with the trash, or at least those items he didn’t collect anymore after the confrontation. “She was, sorry, she is a total badass,” Wanda gushes in admiration of your Alter, winking at you because she means to say that you are a badass too, but maybe just didn’t realise it yet.

“Oh, and she cleaned your apartment.”

This makes you laugh and as you notice how you’re only a few blocks away from Times Square, you ask the most imminent question on your mind. “Did she ever say anything about Bucky?” It takes a lot of your strength to bring up his name again, even though a few moments ago you were still hesitant even bringing up the role he played in helping you seize the serum from Stark.

“Yeah, she did,” Wanda replies softly, trying to find a good parking spot so you don’t have to walk too far anymore. “Not much, but she did say that you’d have a good ally in him. That she hoped, in case you didn’t make it back, that you’d love him just as much as she does.”

Wanda stops the car and kills the engine, turning her body towards you with a small smile. “Now go and meet your friend.”

With a curt nod and a peck on the cheek, you step out of the car and make a run for it towards your meeting spot. From afar you can’t really make out Eddie’s form, as Times Square is packed with people at this time of day. You reach Hard Rock Café and hastily, nervously look around for Eddie, but you don’t see him.

You fear that he didn’t take the serum or that upon injecting himself with it something must’ve gone terribly wrong. Worst case scenario, Stark tracked him down and killed him. Or perhaps he just changed his mind.

Someone taps on your shoulder and instantly you turn around to see who it is. Much to your delight, Eddie’s lively eyes stare right into your soul and you jump into his arms, squealing in joy. He laughs heartily when you pepper kisses all over his face and hug him as if you haven’t seen him in ages.

“I wasn’t sure you’d show up,” you admit as you sigh into his ear, Eddie carefully sliding you back onto your two feet, cupping your cheeks in his large hands so he can take a good look at you again.

You’re still in the same Halloween outfit, but he doesn’t know that and frankly doesn’t care about that. He’s just incredibly grateful to have you in his life again, for good this time. “What happened after I left?,” Eddie asks as he slides an arm around your waist, both of you walking back to Wanda’s car.

Not wanting to tap into too much detail, you just tell Eddie that Bucky took you back to his place where he gave you the injection. He is satisfied with this answer and squeezes your hip. “We will find him, Y/N, don’t worry.”

Smiling as you gaze up at your friend, you know he means it with all his heart.

Two months after you switched back to your own reality, you decided to give up your job as a stewardess and start a new career in health care, following after your Alter who started out as a nurse. Many called it a very ambitious project but Eddie and Wanda supported you wholeheartedly throughout the entire process.

During your internship, you became friends with Sam Wilson, one of the doctors working at the hospital you were interning at. He often says he’s got this strange feeling he’s seen or met you before, but just can’t put his finger on it. It amuses you tremendously, especially since him and Wanda are now dating and you secretly hope their Alters have found each other too.

You never heard from Natasha again but Wanda heard settled down with a guy named Clint Barton, an Olympic archer. As for Steve, you occasionally meet up for drinks again after he apologised profusely for his behaviour. He met a nice girl, Sharon Carter, while he was working for her father at their family business. You’ve forgiven him since you know he has a good heart. After all, his Alter helped you fight against Tony Stark while he just as easily could’ve killed you.

Two years after you switched back you moved to a new apartment in Brooklyn. Soon you’d found out that your downstairs neighbour is Annie, Eddie’s notorious ex. You took advantage of this situation and helped Eddie to eventually make amends with the love of his life. They’re now back together, engaged and expecting their first baby. Eddie is forever grateful he decided to face his fears and switch back to his reality.

And as you were carrying boxes upstairs, the guy that lived in the house next-door asked if he could help you with the move. His voice sounded familiar but it isn’t until you actually see who your neighbour is that you realise you had been right from the start. Bucky Barnes is your new neighbour and you gladly let him help you with your boxes. Back then he was too shy to ask you out on a date, but within a couple weeks he mustered up all his courage and dropped by with coffee and doughnuts.

Four years after you switched back, you finally graduated as a registered nurse. You and Bucky are now in a relationship and living together in his house, next to your old apartment. You have never felt this blissful in your entire life and thank your lucky stars for every waking moment you can spend with the love of your life.

You haven’t forgotten about the switch though it’s been a long time ago now. You think you’ll never be able to let go those feelings you harboured for Bucky, the Bucky from the alternate universe, but you also know that nothing will beat the way your Bucky makes you feel.

Every night before you go to sleep, you hope that your Alter is doing well, that she is happy and healthy. And every morning when you wake up, you hope that it’s another morning your Alter wakes up to her Bucky, too.


End file.
